Kenya has confirmed its first case of Ebola Virus Disease after a Kenyan citizen who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) returned to the country and tested positive for the virus.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale confirmed the case on Tuesday, saying the patient arrived in Nairobi on Saturday, October 3, after travelling from the DRC through Uganda.

The patient has since died while receiving treatment at Nairobi Hospital, marking Kenya's first confirmed Ebola case and death. 

Patient travelled from DRC through Uganda

According to details released by the Ministry of Health, the patient had lived in the DRC for approximately seven years.

The patient travelled by road from the DRC to Kampala, Uganda, before boarding Jambojet flight 8523 to Nairobi. The flight arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday afternoon

After arriving in Nairobi, the patient was taken to Nairobi Hospital by relatives and friends. The patient was subsequently isolated after developing symptoms consistent with viral haemorrhagic fever.

Medical examinations later confirmed infection with the Bundibugyo virus, one of the viruses that causes Ebola disease. 

The patient reportedly experienced fever, severe fatigue and weakness, muscle pain, painful swallowing, a sore throat and bleeding at an injection site before testing positive.

Despite receiving supportive treatment, the patient died on Monday night. 

28 contacts identified

Kenyan authorities have begun contact tracing in an effort to determine whether the virus was transmitted to anyone who came into close contact with the patient.

Health authorities have identified 28 contacts, including family members and healthcare workers who attended to the patient.

Those identified are being monitored as the government assesses the possibility of additional infections. 

The confirmation comes after months of heightened Ebola preparedness in Kenya because of the outbreak in neighbouring countries.

In September, the World Health Organization reported that Kenya had not yet recorded a Bundibugyo Ebola case, while warning that continued transmission in the DRC and cross-border movement created a risk of the virus being imported into Kenya. 

DRC facing a major Ebola outbreak

The Kenyan case is linked to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC.

The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, was declared in May 2026 in Ituri Province. WHO says it has subsequently expanded across multiple provinces.

As of September 23, the DRC had reported 7,890 confirmed cases and 3,799 deaths, giving a reported case-fatality ratio of 48.1 per cent. The outbreak had spread to 63 health zones across seven provinces. (

WHO has classified the risk inside the DRC as very high and the risk to countries sharing a land border with the DRC as high. However, the organisation assessed the risk to the wider African region and globally as low. 

Uganda, which also experienced cases linked to the regional outbreak, was declared free of Ebola in August after recording 20 confirmed cases and two deaths. 

What makes this strain different?

The current outbreak involves Bundibugyo virus, rather than the Zaire ebolavirus responsible for some of the best-known Ebola outbreaks.

According to WHO, there is currently no licensed vaccine or approved specific treatment for Bundibugyo virus disease.

Treatment therefore relies heavily on early diagnosis and intensive supportive care, including management of dehydration and complications. 

WHO says Ebola is primarily transmitted through direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids. People generally become infectious after developing symptoms.

The disease can initially resemble illnesses such as malaria or typhoid, with symptoms including sudden fever, headache, joint pain, sore throat and weakness. Vomiting and diarrhoea can develop later, while bleeding can occur but is not necessarily present in Bundibugyo infections. 

Kenya steps up surveillance

Kenya had already strengthened Ebola preparedness at airports and land borders because of the outbreak in the DRC and Uganda.

In June, the Ministry of Health said more than 71,000 travellers had been screened and that 22 Ebola alerts investigated in Kenya had tested negative. More than 1,000 healthcare workers had also received specialised Ebola preparedness training. 

The country's western border has received particular attention because of the heavy movement of people and goods between Kenya, Uganda and the DRC.

WHO reported in September that more than 3,000 people cross the Busia border area daily, making border surveillance an important part of Kenya's Ebola preparedness strategy. 

The confirmation of Kenya's first imported case now puts those surveillance and contact-tracing systems to the test.

For the public, health authorities are urging vigilance and reliance on verified information rather than rumours. Ebola does not spread simply because someone is in the same room or has travelled on the same aircraft; transmission is principally associated with direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids.

Authorities will now closely monitor the 28 identified contacts during the incubation period to establish whether any secondary infections occur.